Key Facts
- Avere translates to to have in Italian, used to express states like hunger and thirst.
- In Italian, instead of saying "I am hungry," one says "io ho fame" meaning "I have hunger."
- Personal pronouns are often omitted in Italian unless emphasizing the subject, making sentences more concise.
- Other expressions using avere include thirst, sleepiness, hotness, and coldness, such as "Maria ha sete" for "Maria is thirsty."
HOW TO USE THE ITALIAN VERB “AVERE” WHEN TALKING ABOUT HUNGER
AVERE MEANS TO HAVE:
In Italian the use of hunger is not denoted by “I am hungry” but rather with “I have hunger”. Let’s find out.
Verb: Avere (to have):
- I have- io ho
- You have-tu hai
- She / it has-lei ha
- He / it has- lui ha
- We have- noi abbiamo
- All of you have- voi avete
- They have- loro hanno
Let’s see how we use hunger with avere:
- I have hunger (I am hungry)- io ho fame
- You have hunger (you are hungry)- tu hai fame
- She / it has hunger (she/it is hungry)- lei ha fame
- He / it has hunger (he/it is hungry)-lui ha fame
- We have hunger (we are hungry)- noi abbiamo fame
- All of you have hunger (all of you are hungry)- voi avete fame
- They have hunger (they are hungry)- loro hanno fame
Unlike English, in Italian it is not important to use the personal pronoun in front, unless you want to emphasize.
Other uses of avere:
Other instances where “avere” is used instead of “essere” are for thirst, hotness, coldness and sleepiness.
- Maria ha sete- Maria is thirsty
- Noi abbiamo sonno- We are sleepy
- Loro hanno freddo- They are cold
- Tu hai caldo- You are hot